A Closed off Paradox
by LexieBird
Summary: How exactly did Pete manage to time it right to save Rose from the Void? How'd he know where to stand? It certainly wasn't coincidence, it was... Time travel! /sigh. Terrible summary. It's just a little bit of filler. Set post JE and during Doomsday.


"But, I thought crossing timelines was bad?" She asked, making the statement a question. "Paradoxes, Reapers, all that?"  
"Ah, well. Yes, it's normally bad, but you can have stable time-loops, kinda like... closed-off paradoxes. Thing is, it'll work. Just don't meet yourself, don't say too much about the future, and _don't _mention me. Okay?"

* * *

"Oh no you don't. He's not doing that to me again." Rose muttered under her breath, then hit the button on her dimension jump, vanishing with a flash of light. Pete reacted first, snatching Jackie's dimension jump away from her before she could press the button.  
"But I've gotta go back!" Jackie cried.  
"The Doctor said every time we use one of these, it damages the whole world. Now _that's it_." Pete countered.  
"She's your _daughter_!" Jackie said, holding back a sob.  
"She's your daughter. Not mine." Pete said, turning and grabbing Mickey's dimension jump too.  
"Mickey, tell him. Tell him, Mickey! Mickey!" Mickey didn't respond, just turned away slightly.  
"Get _away _from me!" Jackie yelled, pushing Pete away from her as he stepped closer hesitantly. Pete turned, and something in his eyes made Jackie calm slightly. "She's our Rose, Pete." She said, quietly now. "Maybe it'll work, yeah? You lost your Jackie, I lost my Pete..." She trails off. "But daughter or not, she's _important_. No, she's _brilliant_, and I'm not having her dying because you won't let me go back and save her!" Pete looked at Jackie carefully, as if he was about to give in.  
"I don't die, Mum." Mickey, Pete and Jackie turn to see Rose standing before them, a smile on her lips.  
"Rose? Oh my God, ROSE!" Jackie cried, rushing over to her, hugging the life out of her. "Did the Doctor send you back?" Rose smiled mysteriously.  
"Yes and no. But, for what you're thinking, no." She paused. "I'm from the future, Mum." She said, cutting to the chase. "I can't say how, or why, but..." She trailed off, then turned to Pete.  
"You need to save me, please." She said, quietly. Pete's eyes went round.  
"You don't need saving. You're right there!" He said. Rose sighed, forgetting he wasn't used to time travel.  
"I'm from the future. Which means, the current Rose - your current Rose, is still on the other side of the Void, with the Doctor." She paused again, checking a her watch. "But it goes wrong, Da- Pete." Pete paled. "The switch goes offline and, I have to... well, to cut a long story short, I'm going to fall. Loose my grip." She said shortly. "It's going to suck. I'm not going to be very happy for a while, but it all works out eventually. You guys'll do a great job, taking care of me." She assured them. "But Pete, if you want to do this - and you don't have to, but I'd love it if you did - you have to stand right here-" Rose pointed to a spot about a metre from where he was standing, "and press the dimension jump button exactly when I say. You'll appear in that universe, then I'll fall into your arms, then you hit the button again." She checked her watch again, biting her lip. "We've still got a few minutes - apparently, time runs slightly slower here, but this universe started ahead... I dunno." She finished lamely.  
"If you're doing time travel stuff," Jackie said, "then is the Doctor with you?" Rose smiled sadly.  
"I can't say, Mum. He warned me of that."  
"Who warned you?" Mickey questioned. Rose just smiled.  
"I'll do it." Pete said suddenly, determined. "For you, Jacks." He added, and Jackie smiled, slightly sadly.  
"Great." Rose said. "Now, stand here..." She directed him carefully to the right spot, "and go when I say. You'll only be gone for about thirty seconds, and when you get back I - this future me, that is - will be gone." She said, and the three frowned at her. "I've got to go before your Rose gets here." She explained. "Some... blino-something-or-other effect. Basically, if I see me, it's bad. And you can't mention this to me, ever. Okay?" Rose asked, and Jackie, Pete and Mickey nodded. Rose checked her watch again. "Okay, ready?" She asked, and Pete nodded. "Three... Two... One... Go!" She said, and Pete disappeared in a flash of light.  
"See you in a moment," Rose said, grinning. "Stick it out. I'll be unbearable, but it'll work out. Promise." She said, then turned on her heel and left. Pete reappeared a few moments later, with Rose in his arms, and she jumped up off him as soon as she could, screaming, banging against the wall, pressing the yellow button fruitlessly.

The future Rose walked down the hallway, ignoring her own screams. She wanted to turn around and comfort herself, but she'd been warned of paradoxes and had experienced Reapers first-hand. Finally, she reached the time-machine, and opened the familiar blue doors. An even more familiar face greeted her with an anxious smile as she entered.

"Go okay then?" He asked.  
"I'm still here, aren't I?" She joked, hugging the man before her. "Yeah, it worked. Pete saved me."  
"I knew he would. Was a brilliant idea, if I do say so myself." He said, and Rose sighed.  
"Even as a human, you're still an arrogant sod." She teased, tweaking his nose.  
"Well, I wouldn't be the Doctor if I wasn't, would I?" He pointed out, then spun away from her and began to flick switches on the young TARDIS console. "Where to next?" He said, and it sounded more like a declaration than a question. Rose stepped up close to him.  
"Oh, hello." The Doctor said, his voice higher than it should have been. Rose leaned in and kissed him.  
"Thanks for saving me." She said quietly, then pulled away, examining the console excitedly.  
"No problem." The Doctor managed to squeak, before looking back down to his coordinates. He set them to random, because random adventures are always the best, and took Rose's hand and squeezed it.  
"It's this one now, yeah?" Rose asked, pointing to a lever.  
"No! No, nonono, that's... bad. Don't pull that one," he warned. "_that _one." He corrected, moving her hand over to a similar looking lever. Rose's eyes glinted excitedly.  
"Wait, what do you say..." She paused, partly for effect, partly because she'd always been terrible at French and she really didn't want to mess this up. They exchanged a glance.  
"Allons-y!" They both cried, Rose pulling the lever.

The past Rose cried, banging her hands against the wall. She quietened for a moment, out of sheer, crushing sadness. Her mind, playing tricks on her, made her hear the TARDIS dematerialise. _It's the end, _Rose thought, while somewhere, sometime, another Rose thought, _it's the beginning._

* * *

_I was thinking the other day, how on Earth did Pete manage to appear in exactly the right spot to catch Rose, at exactly the right time so that he wouldn't be around long enough to be sucked in? And then, I decided that future Rose could come back and tell them! Mm, I love time travel and fan fiction. Review please! (:_


End file.
